In mid-November 2025, the coastal city of Sousse in Tunisia, best known for its golden beaches and ancient medina, was transformed into something entirely different: the centre of a continental technological shift. Over three days, Novation City, the region's emerging tech cluster, hosted the Global AI Congress Africa GAICA 2025, an event that has quickly established itself as one of the most influential gatherings for artificial intelligence on the continent.
What unfolded inside its halls felt far more ambitious than a conventional technology conference. GAICA 2025 offered a glimpse into a possible African future: bold, collaborative and unapologetically forward-looking.
On the morning of 17 November, Sousse bore little resemblance to its usual self. Tourist shuttles were replaced by buses carrying delegations from Nairobi, Casablanca, Accra, Kigali and Johannesburg. Hotel lobbies buzzed with conversations in Arabic, French, English and Swahili. Investors, founders, researchers and government leaders mingled with lanyards swinging from their necks, sharing a palpable sense of anticipation.